


Golden Ghosts

by sacred_toast



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Road Trip, also they're not streamers or youtubers, not set in the real world, not that schlatt remembers that, schlatt doesn't remember his friends, set in a world where the boys all live semi close and are just close friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25720891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacred_toast/pseuds/sacred_toast
Summary: It's been three years since Schlatt has remembered his "friends," though he doesn't know if they really are. Amnesia can be a bitch. But maybe a simple road trip map can change all that.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69





	1. Less of a Map, More of a Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm making another attempt at this with a bit of a different style from my last one. I'd appreciate any feedback since I'm still kinda new to writing and all that. And this isn't set in our real world where Lunch Club exists, but in this, they're just close friends, or should I say were because Schlatt can't remember them, yet. But, we'll get to that. I'll stop blathering on now, and if anyone believes this fic crosses any boundaries, I'll take it down.

The house was in complete disarray. Clothes, video games, papers, and other random objects sat on top of the hardwood floor, stimulated often enough by the occasional breeze as to not begin to collect dust. That same small breeze was also what kept Schlatt from ending his relentless search for what he had lost long ago. It had been years since he had last seen the faces of those strangers, and he was beginning to feel they weren’t actually strangers. Seeing as he remembered driving all six of those strangers across the country.

What he searched for was a map. The only lead he’s had in the last three years. Had it really been that long? Three whole years since it felt like his life was upturned without the least bit of a clue as to why it felt like that. Sure, he remembered waking up in the hospital. But ask him how he had gotten there or what he was doing the entire month beforehand and he’d have no answer. Not to mention the other more random lapses in his memory, as though someone had decided to just go inside his head and cut out a few pieces. The strangers, all six of them, were the only lead he’d had for the agonizingly long three years of trying to return to “normal”. As if he could do that. That was until he caught a glimpse of what he assumed to be the month before he woke in the hospital. 

_ “Schlatt, it’s a long way,” a blonde man with glasses, rolling down his passenger side window, argued, “you’re going to want to trade off at some point.”  _

_ Schlatt turned in his seat to face towards the back of the RV where the tallest of them all corralled the other four with the promise of fast food soon. With a smug look on his face he turned to face the blonde man, pulling his yankee hat on before his seat belt. _

_ “You know me,” he paused turning the key in the ignition, “just take the damn map and shut up, cause you know what they call me?” _

_ “What do they call you, Schlatt?” Blonde hair played along, obviously not buying it. _

_ “They call me Mr. RV,” and with the biggest shit eating grin, Schlatt stepped on the gas. _

And the map the blonde man had, was the same map he could vividly remember being handed to him before the same man left Schlatt to recover in the hospital.

_ “The doctors said you might have some memory loss, but from a head injury you got a couple months ago?”  _

_ Schlatt didn’t feel good. The lights were too bright and when he eventually moved his head to meet a blonde man’s eyes he could feel a burning pain spread across his head. He didn’t even dare try to sit up if he was already in that much pain lying down. _

_ “Which means I have to ask you some questions to see what you remember. But, first off, I’m not mad. I just wish you would have told your best friends about something as serious as this. I mean, you were fucking mugged!” The blonde man pushed against the bridge of his glasses, staring at Schlatt in disbelief. _

_ “I wasn’t mugged,” Schlatt corrected, even though he had to bite his tongue afterwards to stifle a groan of pain. _

_ “What?” _

_ Schlatt decided he’d push through the pain of talking, only because of how distressed the man was.  _

_ “I wasn’t mugged,” his voice was weak and he could barely keep his eyes open, “I have a brain tumor. Thought mugged...sounded less pathetic. So that’s what I wanted the doctors to tell you if you found out.” _

_ Schlatt’s response earned a much needed break to the tension in the room in the form of a weak laugh. _

_ “Of course you did.” _

_ The silence that followed left Schlatt uneasy. It was a nice relief on his ears, but something about the man in the room was messing with his head. Sleep tugged on his body and Schlatt decided to make the next move to avoid succumbing to it. _

_ “You said something about questions?” The man who still hadn’t given his name finally came to the realization that he had forgotten all about that, finally sitting in the chair close to Schlatt. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but some of the uneasiness faded when the man wasn’t standing over him. _

_ “Yeah, sorry. What’s your name?” _

_ “Schlatt.” _

_ “What do you do for a living?” _

_ “Software development.” _

_ “What have you been doing for the last month?” _

_ “I..uh,” Schlatt didn’t know. He scrunched his eyes closed in an attempt to focus and retrieve the information, but the attempt was futile. When he opened his eyes again the blonde man was staring at him with what could only have been pity. That was the last straw, he could handle a stranger coming in and acting like a friend, not the pity. Schlatt hated being the one given pity. “Who do you think you are waltzing in here and acting like you know me?! For god’s sake, I don’t even know who you are!” Schlatt belted dismissing the tears that were now freely flowing down his cheeks, not knowing whether they were from the pain or the emotional distress, or both.  _

_ “You don’t know me?” The man shrunk back. That caught Schlatt off guard and only sent him further into the state of delirium that was building fast. He pulled his hands up to hold his head that was now spinning, the movement thankfully not adding pain. Others must’ve entered the room because he heard hushed voices, or normal voices he couldn’t tell anymore. Their faces meant nothing to him when he actually removed his hands from his own face. Just a group of strangers who left him feeling oddly empty. Whether they knew him or not, they must’ve recognized that he didn’t because they left after he had only caught a short glimpse. The only other person left in the room was the original man, now holding something in his right hand. _

_ “Take it,” he demanded, holding out whatever it was, Schlatt was too out of it to actually know. “Maybe it’ll help you,” he explained after Schlatt grabbed it. At this point darkness was creeping at the edges of his vision, but he was able to make out one more sentence from the man. “I’m gonna keep in touch, but I’ll miss you man.” _

True to his word, Schlatt had received multiple texts and calls from the blonde stranger who said his name was Carson. He was reintroduced to the other five, finally knowing their names to be Noah, Charlie, Cooper, Travis, and Ted. They were nice guys, fun to be around, but it wasn’t long until they all realized that he wouldn’t remember him or his other “friends”. And trying to force him to remember had caused more harm than good with the seizures that often occurred when Schlatt tried searching too hard for the missing time. They hadn’t talked in just over two years now, and the seizures had decreased in number to the point where he hadn’t had one in months. His doctor told him the seizures were likely an outcome of the growth and removal of the tumor, and whatever happened to land him in the hospital. Carson had yet to inform him on that one.

And here he was, risking another seizure because of the joy he had received from the one memory of his friends. Yeah, his friends. He liked that better than strangers. Just the memory alone had reminded him of how happy he felt around them.

A buzz in his pocket broke him out of thought. He pulled the phone out to find Connor was calling him, not much of a surprise there since he checked in on a regular basis.

“Hello, hello,” Schlatt chirped out with a grin Connor couldn’t see.

“Oh, you sound happy. You have a date with a girl or something?”

“Come on Connor, you know it would’ve been a big hot man. So no. I’m just feeling good, for once,” Connor was the only person he felt comfortable actually sharing his feelings with, but he also didn’t want to risk getting yelled at for trying to dig up his past. 

“Uh huh, you, happy? I’m sorry man but you’ve got to be up to something. You haven’t been happy for years, like truly happy,” Schlatt wished Connor didn’t know him so well as he paced around the cluttered room with a hand in his pocket.

“Fine, I remembered something,” Schlatt admitted in defeat.

“That’s great!” Two words Schlatt was not expecting, but he wasn’t about to question it. “Why didn’t you want to tell me?”

“You know, I assumed you’d worry about my condition worsening,” if only Connor could see the sheepish look on Schlatt’s face, he would’ve gotten a kick out of it.

“Of course I’m worried, but you remembered something! That’s progress!” That was the difference between them, he supposed. While Schlatt tended to see the worst in a situation, Connor saw the best.

While Schlatt updated Connor on what he remembered, he continued to search for the map with the phone pressed against his ear with his shoulder. Shortly after Connor was up to date with the situation and the two were chatting about pointless things, Schlatt paused staring at a worn piece of paper sitting in the back corner of his closet.

“You still there?” Connor questioned, and Schlatt just had to ignore the concern in his voice as he grabbed at the paper to unfold it. The map was just as he remembered, probably the worst map to have ever been used for a road trip. Crudely drawn in directions and locations littered the paper, some of them almost incomprehensible, and a large portion of the map was covered with doodles. “If you don’t respond in the next ten seconds I’m going to drive to your house and kick down your door.”

“Sorry,” Schlatt responded quickly. Connor would probably be disappointed in the state of his house, better to keep him away from it. He also hadn’t realized he’d been silent for that long.

“Why’d you go radio silent?” Schlatt stared down at the paper in his hands, a small grin creeping at the edge of his lips.

“I found it.”

“Well, did you remember anything else?” It was then that Schlatt noticed the map hadn’t helped him. Yet. After all, he didn’t find the map only to look at it and throw it away.

“I’m going on a road trip,” Schlatt declared, folding the map and placing it in his pocket. He started to grab items of clothing from his mess of a floor and packing them into a backpack.

“Woah, slow down there buddy. You’re going on a what now?”

“Did I speak russain or something, I clearly said a road trip,” Schlatt grabbed the bag and hurried around to gather the other random items he’d want for the road. 

“You’re not!” Connor declared with a scoff. He continued to pack anyway, sifting through his draws in search of cash. “Are you even allowed to drive?”

“I told you they cleared me last week,” Schlatt stood still for a moment taking the time to count through the cash he had gathered. Seventeen dollars. Definitely not enough. “Hey Connor, you have any cash?” 

“Yeah, like three hundred or---wait! I’m not supporting this,” Connor sputtered, flustered. Schlatt could work with flustered. 

“You wouldn’t want me to go unprepared, would you, Connor?” He smirked, grabbing his keys off the counter and twirling them around his finger as he waited for a response.

“Fine, fine. Meet me at my place,” Connor sighed in defeat, and from the sound of faint purring through the phone, probably petting his cat for stress relief. Schlatt pulled on his one and only Yankee hat, peeking a glance in the mirror to see a glimmer of the man he was three years ago. The man that got into an RV not knowing he’d forget everyone in it within a month. It wasn’t completely him yet, and anyone else would’ve seen no change, but Schlatt could see it. 

Connor must have seen it too. Because he froze the instant he swung the door open for his friend. “Can I at least come along?” He bargained, holding out a wad of cash. Schlatt took it shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, really, I am. But I have to do this alone,” Schlatt explained, maintaining eye contact as he shoved the wad next to his phone, “I know you understand that.” And from the silent response, it was clear he did. Connor, not the hugging type, pulled Schlatt into a tight embrace. To Schlatt, Connor was acting as if he’d never see him again, but he returned the gesture.

“Promise me, you’ll come back,” Connor asked, pulling back to wipe a tear away. Begged would be a better way to describe his plea. It was unnerving to see his best friend cry.

“I’ll do my best to stay safe,” Schlatt dropped his head to avoid the inevitable pain in Connor’s eyes, Schlatt wasn’t one to make promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. In some sense Connor must’ve appreciated the truthful response, but it didn’t stop Schlatt from feeling the sharp sting of Connor’s hand against his cheek.

“Don’t make me regret that,” Connor stated, staring at his now bright red hand. Schlatt couldn’t even muster a single drop of anger, because if the roles were reversed he’d have done that too. Maybe that’s why they were such good friends, too similar for their own good. Whatever it was, Schlatt didn’t want to miss out on a full life with a friend like Connor. And just to be clear, not in a gay way, a platonic way.

“I won’t.”


	2. Schlatt can see the future?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schlatt remembers the first stop of the road trip. He also remembers Noah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick little note, if you already read chapter 1 I changed things up a bit, not too much though so you might get away with not reskimming over it (if reskimming is even a word). Also sorry for taking so long to write this, school ya know.

Summer has never been Schlatt’s favorite season. At least for the last couple of years it hasn’t. Though he couldn’t deny the warm wind flying through the window as a redeeming factor to the all too scorching heat of the season. That still didn’t change the fact that summer marked the anniversary of his broken mind. Regardless, the roaring wind felt nice.

The drive had been nice so far. Connor called occasionally to make sure Schlatt hadn’t died. It was nice to have the company every once in a while, not that Schlatt would admit that. Music blared through the stereo, louder than it probably should’ve been. If he were to be suddenly asked why it was so loud, not that he would seeing as he was alone, but if he was, Schlatt would say it was to keep his serotonin pumping. The sad truth is that the music was a distraction to keep Schlatt’s mind from his first destination. A small tourist trap known as Kapplin Hollow.

To be honest, Schlatt had no idea what he was going into. His google search of the location yielded little information. That being: Kapplin Hollow was a small town in the middle of nowhere with a population of seventy six. Other than that, Schlatt was going in blind. The name sounded familiar enough and left him feeling oddly frightened. As if Schlatt subconsciously didn’t like what was awaiting him.

After seven hours on the road the surroundings began to shift. The once full green trees started to appear half dead, with the occasional red, orange, yellow, or brown leaf adorning a branch or two. The grass started to appear dead or there would be splotches where there had only ever been ugly pale dirt. Schlatt even had to roll up his windows because the wind became much too cool. Much to Schlatt’s disbelief, Kapplin Hollow seemed to be eternally stuck in the season of Fall.

As Schlatt approached an archway, what he assumed to be the entrance to the town, a black cat pranced onto the road causing Schlatt to slam on the brakes and swerve. When the car came to an uneasy halt Schlatt noticed he was no longer in his own vehicle. Instead, Schlatt found himself in the driver’s seat of an RV, suddenly exhausted beyond belief.

“Schlatt!” Carson yelled from the passenger seat, his hand gripping Schlatt’s shoulder firmly. “You just fell asleep behind the wheel, I told you to let me drive! But no, I’m big gay man Schlatt, I can drive thirty hours with no sleep,” Carson ranted. 

After Schlatt’s initial confusion, he came to the realization that he was living a memory, and his future consciousness melted into that of his memory self. 

“What can I say? I thought I could make it,” Schlatt stated, shrugging off Carson’s hand. “Besides, I didn’t fall asleep. You won’t believe me, but I think I saw the future.”

“And now you’re going crazy, let’s get you some rest,” Carson moved the shift stick so that the RV was in park and forcefully pulled Schlatt from the driver’s seat. 

“No, I’m fine. And I’m not lying. It was like I was here, but in the future. On my own. In my car. I don’t know how to explain it, but I somehow felt emptier in the head than normal. I forgot where I was for a moment,” Schlatt explained, moving along with Carson, though occasionally attempting to pull away from his grip.

Carson seemed to think on it for a moment, his face scrunching for a second of deep thought before returning to normal. “Fine, I’ll believe you, but I’m not going to let prophet Schlatt drive, because he almost killed us,” Carson released Schlatt, “Ted! You’re in the front now, help me navigate.”

“Sure thing boss,” Ted spoke immediately, practically sprinting to the passenger seat, pushing past Schlatt. The RV wasn’t exactly the most spacious in the back. There was a table with two seats, both filled by Cooper and Travis, who were in the middle of an intense game of cards. Charlie was passed out on the built in couch, his head resting on Noah’s shoulder, who was very much awake and attempting to keep the former from drooling on him. Schlatt decided to take a seat to Noah’s other, unoccupied side.

“So you saw the future?” Noah asked, not turning his head to face Schlatt in an effort to not disturb Charlie. Staring at the speckled carpet, Schlatt wanted to deny what he had experienced, forget about it maybe.

“What of it?” Schlatt decided to respond. He couldn’t see Noah’s face, but it was easy to assume he was wearing a smirk.

“I don’t think you’re crazy, if that’s what you’re assuming,” Noah laughed, “It’s quite interesting, actually.” Schlatt did turn to face Noah this time, and the smirk, if Noah had even had one at all was gone. Replaced with a straight face. His eyes clouded over as if deep in thought. Not that the expression was unusual for Noah.

“Thank you,” Schlatt whispered, not quite sure who he was thanking, Noah or his own now at peace mind. It was a couple of seconds of hearing only Carson and Ted’s mindless chatter as well as Cooper and Travis’ empty bickering before he received a quiet grunt from Noah. What Schlatt assumed was Noah’s form of acceptance of his thanks. 

Once again Schlatt was left alone with the empty noise of the RV. The lingering image of himself driving alone to this tourist trap sitting at the back of his head. Sunlight filtered through the thick window, dimmed by the time it hit Schlatt’s face. Dim enough that he started to drift into a soft slumber.

“If you end up like Charlie, you’re going to be stuck with me the entire time we’re in this shit hole of a town,” Noah nudged Schlatt awake long enough to hear his warning. As though that could scare Schlatt into not sleeping. The only thing that scared Schlatt was being caught for what he did in ninety nine. With Noah’s “threat” looming over him, Schlatt easily drifted off again, slightly hoping he wouldn’t lean into Noah’s shoulder.

____

“Hey, dumbass, wake up,” Noah pinched Schlatt’s arm, snapping the poor, well maybe not, man awake. The dim sunlight had been traded in for a soft glow of moonlight. Looking at his phone, Schlatt realized he had slept for a measly five hours, but he felt worlds better. What Schlatt also realized was that when he woke his head had sprung up, from Noah’s shoulder. A frown found its way to his face, and his hand pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh, it took you that long. I expected better from you, Schlatt,” Noah scolded, standing and stretching his limbs.

The RV was empty now. Charlie wasn’t resting on Noah’s other shoulder, the card game had been abandoned, and that terrible map was the only thing sitting on the driver’s seat. Had it been other circumstances Schlatt would’ve loved the emptiness, except the emptiness was now filled with Noah. But Schlatt would be damned if he allowed Noah to ruin this shit hole of a town for him. Yeah. Schlatt loved shit holes. Schlatt was going to have a fun time.

The now duo exited the RV and were met with eternal October. Seriously, you couldn’t make this up. It looked like something out of a movie. The trees were all autumn stained, the air was cool, the grass or what was left of it was yellowing, and autumn leaves swirled in the occasional breeze. All of that, when it was the middle of summer when the leaves shouldn’t be any color but green. And that was only nature. The town itself was decorated for Halloween. No matter what direction Schlatt turned his head he could always see a skeleton, a scarecrow, or a ghost (not a real one obviously). What wrapped everything together was the soft orange glow coming from what had to be thousands of strands of lights. No matter how odd the town may be, it would be a sin to say that Schlatt didn’t find it somewhat stunning. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Schlatt verbalized his thoughts, earning an abrupt laugh.

“What, you’ve never seen fall decorations before?”

“Shut up,” Schlatt glared. Noah didn’t argue. It would’ve surprised Schlatt if Noah did, it just wasn’t in the man’s nature to speak more words than necessary.

“Let’s go to the haunted house,” Noah pointed towards a decrepit building, a house no one could possibly live in if they wanted to. That’s probably why it was turned into a haunted house. Schlatt didn’t have a good history with haunted houses, as much as he tried to be an afraid of nothing guy, he didn’t approve of purposefully getting frightened. Schlatt had also read one too many articles where the employees at these attractions have turned out to be murderers. 

“What about the corn maze?” Schlatt interjected, pointing to the much less daunting field of dimly lit corn. 

“After the haunted house,” Noah decided grabbing Schlatt’s arm and pulling him towards the old house. “I said you were going to be stuck with me, and that means I decide where we go.”

“Listen, I just really think we shouldn’t go in there. I’ll make you a deal,” Schlatt offered. Silence. Schlatt attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, no luck. “I’ll pay you. How much?” Silence. “Please,” Schlatt pleaded this time. His heart rate was beginning to rise and his limbs were starting to feel a bit numb. Not good. “Listen, I’m being serious, I need to go back to the RV for like five minutes. I promise, I’ll go to the haunted house after.” Schlatt was able to escape Noah’s hold and ran to the safety of the not too far off RV bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror his body looked different, felt odd. Not good. 

_ Someone was trying to grab his attention. Noah? No. Schlatt was in his car, alone. Well maybe not alone since someone was trying to talk to him. _

_ “Yes?” Schlatt asked. Whipping his head to face whoever was there. The face he was met with was not what Schlatt had expected. Zombie. There was a zombie. Schlatt recoiled pushing himself as far as he could get from the man while still in his car. Embarrassment bloomed quickly after, since, of course, zombies weren’t real and this man must be an employee of the haunted house. The haunted house he could remember. That. He. - _

“Schlatt!” Noah yelled through the door. A succession of pounding following shortly after. Schlatt scrambled up from the ground, his panic filled rush doing everything to assure his secret wouldn’t escape. The trip would surely be over if he did. “I heard something fall, it wasn’t you, was it?” It was. Not that Schlatt would say that of course.

“I dropped my phone, sorry,” Schlatt pushed the door open. Trying desperately not to appear as disheveled as he felt. The sleep deprivation was probably no help to his condition. 

“Did you forget to pull down your pants as well?” Noah chuckled, though Schlatt could still see a worried glint in his eyes.

“Shit,” his pants were, in fact, very noticeably wet. “I’m gonna go change.” Schlatt didn’t remember pissing his pants, he also didn’t remember when he started having seizures. That was definitely new. And definitely going to make hiding his condition harder. Seeing the future was kind of weird though, if that’s what it really was. 

A change of pants later, Schlatt and Noah stood in line for the haunted house. Noah insisted that they didn’t have to go in if Schlatt was that adamant about not entering, queue the pant pissing jokes, but Schlatt insisted they enter. He had promised after all.

On the way to the door, a walk through a path surrounded by thick hedges, Schlatt was beginning to fidget more with his hands. I mean, the people in that house could be murderers and Schlatt could become their victim.

“That’s stupid,” Noah muttered.

“What?” Schlatt stopped fidgeting. He hadn’t said that out loud, had he?

“They’re not murderers, you’re just working yourself up,” Noah scoffed, clearly beside himself that he really had to explain what he meant. Schlatt must’ve said his stupid fear out loud then, that was the case. It had to be. 

He didn’t have time to ponder on this though, because that same zombie popped out of the hedges, threatening the dry state of Schlatt’s pants. Noah on the other hand, had no reaction, his stoic face remaining just that, stoic. After the initial fear, the realization of the fact that Schlatt referred to the man as the “same zombie” startled Schlatt just that little bit more.

The rest of the haunted house adventure went the same as that first scare. Schlatt would jump or flinch at even the slightest noise or movement, while Noah had no reaction whatsoever. It did seem to Schlatt that Noah was amused by him, seeing as the occasional smirk or chuckle would break through his straight faced look. A straight faced look that seemed to show Noah a little too deep in thought for a haunted house. But Schlatt was too busy being frightened to notice that.

“Noah,” Schlatt started walking faster as he spotted the exit to that god forsaken place, “make me a promise that you won’t tell anyone else about anything that happened tonight. Even better, I’ll make you a deal.” Schlatt smirked. With confidence he clapped his hands together. “You don’t tell anyone, and we scare the shit out of them the first chance we get.” Noah cocked his head at the idea. “Sound like a deal?”

“You have yourself a deal,” Noah shook Schlatt’s outreached hand, a plan already starting to develop. 

_ This time when Schlatt came to, he was lying in a bed in what appeared to be a hotel room. His belongings along with some extra items were also in the room, though he didn’t remember moving them in. Or even entering the hotel room. His phone was on the nightstand, buzzing occasionally. And when Schlatt picked it up he saw a lot of missed calls and texts from Connor. And a couple from an unknown number that his phone suggested was Noah. Noah?  _

_ Schlatt probably should’ve called Connor back. But he suddenly found himself waiting for Noah to pick up. It was close to one am so it wouldn’t shock him if Noah didn’t pick up. Seven rings later and Noah answered. _

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah, just give me a moment to gather them all,” Schlatt opened his door locking his belongings inside, somehow arranged the same as they were in what Schlatt would like to think is the future. 

When Noah and Schlatt had planned their “spook”, they had the hardest time coming up with a reasonable excuse to get everyone outside. After thirty minutes of planning they had decided on telling their friends they found a cool restaurant they wanted everyone to try. It wasn’t the best excuse, since it was close to one am, however it was believable enough. So, now everyone was walking out of the hotel. It should probably be mentioned that the hotel was actually a house, a very large house, but a house. And thus, the house was able to be located in the middle of fucking nowhere compared to the actual town. The sight they were all met with outside was forest with small strands of lights leading back to the town. 

Walking down the path they all shared conversations about their experiences of the town, no one had even questioned why they were going to a restaurant at one am. Just what Schlatt was hoping for. They were nearing the location arranged with the haunted house employee, and Schlatt was preparing himself for the act he was about to put on. Schlatt turned to Noah and nodded, the signal. This couldn’t have gone more smoothly. 

With a strong hold, Schlatt was pulled into the woods. A sharp shriek erupted from his throat, feigning fear. What Schlatt hadn’t been expecting was a knife pulled to his throat, the cold blade stinging against his skin and causing a soft yelp to escape. Noah probably suggested that, damn him.

“Give me your money, or your friend dies.” Schlatt’s friends instantly started scrambling towards their pockets, Ted looked like he was about ready to charge the man holding Schlatt. Before anything could get out of hand Schlatt started laughing, sort of akin to that of a madman, but when didn’t he laugh like that? It was enough to make his friends stop rifling through their pockets and realize that Noah was also letting out a small chuckle, clearly proud of himself.

“You should’ve hear-, seen yourselves!” Noah exclaimed, speaking probably louder than he had the entire trip thus far. Though his little slip up didn’t quite evade Schlatt’s curiosity. It wasn’t the first time he’d have guessed Noah was hearing something he shouldn’t be able to. Schlatt decided to chalk it up to killer intuition, it wasn’t the time to think about things like that too deeply. And since Ted was slowly approaching him he was broken from his thoughts regardless.

“That was not okay,” anger practically emanating from the strong steps Ted took, “quite the opposite actually.” Now it was Schlatt who was frightened. A rustle of leaves signaled the hired man’s down the dimly lit path, he wasn’t paid enough to justify getting beaten up. Ted didn’t even watch the hired man leave, his attention was solely on Schlatt. “I was having a dandy good great time enjoying this shamble town’s history, and then you decide to frighten me with a spook like that,” Ted was so close to Schlatt’s face at this point that he was basically touching noses. It looked, actually, quite funny as Ted had to lean down a couple inches to be face level.

“You got me good!” Ted laughed, ruffling Schlatt’s hair like a father would to his son. A collective sigh sounded from the five friends who were expecting Schlatt to be met with a fist to the face. Schlatt, the one who thought he was done for, also let out a sigh of relief. 

The rest of the night was filled with crappy diner food and laughs. Being the only ones in the diner had its benefits, and dancing like wild animals while blasting music from the jukebox was definitely one of them. Schlatt and Noah opted out of the dancing, deciding to turn in sooner than the rest of the group.

Crunching of leaves and the rustling of the wind was the only noise to be heard as the two started to make their way back to the hotel. Wolves howled in the distance, white light shown from the moon, a crisp breeze bit against the air. The walk back was peaceful. There might not have been words shared for most of the way, but the silence was comfortable.

Which is why it was unfortunate that Noah had to break the silence. Noah of all people. Schlatt thought he was the one who was supposed to like the silence.

“Your secret is safe with me by the way,” were the words that had broken through the cool air. Words that sent Schlatt into panic, since no one was supposed to know. And Noah knew.

“Wha-, ah-what secret?” Schlatt stammered out, wishing his charisma and deception had been a little bit better in that moment. 

“The seizures, the tumor, seeing the future. Though I don’t think seeing the future is your power, but an aspect of your power. These things can be complicated,” Noah rambled on, somehow dead set on the reality of Schlatt having supernatural abilities. Seeing the future had to be a delusion, it couldn’t be real. The zombie at the haunted house had to be a coincidence, he hadn’t seen a future version of that same man. Had he? “I know it’s confusing, knowing you have an ability like that,” Noah comforted. His eyes were sincere, so Schlatt ruled out this being a prank. Unless Noah was that good of an actor. “You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to. Just try to keep it hidden, there’s people who can’t know. And trust me, you don’t want them to know.” 

“I, how do you know all this?” Schlatt stopped walking, everything being a bit too much for him at the moment. The woods were now all too quiet, and Schlatt wanted nothing more than Noah’s answer to fill that silence.

“You’ve already suspected the answer, and I know that for a fact,” Noah continued down the path, not bothering to elaborate. Schlatt hurried to catch up. “Just know that you’re not alone, if you need someone to talk to feel free to talk to me. And if you want to share your secret with the others I’m sure you won’t receive the response that you believe you’re going to happen upon.” 

The rest of the way down that dimly orange lit path Noah never once stopped talking, and Schlatt never once stopped listening.


End file.
